Moon of Shadows
by warriorcat firestarxgraystripe
Summary: A pairing fic of Firestar and Graystripe. Graystripe sees more than friendship in Firestar, except Firestar still loves Sandstorm. What will Firestar do? Who shall he choose.     A story of what could have been in between series 1& 2. Special Edition
1. Chapter 1

**Moon of Shadows**

"Graystripe, my den please," Firestar calmly called across the clearing of the Thunder Clan camp to the front of the warrior's den, where a grey long haired tom sat calmly with a pale tabby she-cat. Leaving the vole he was eating and mewing a goodbye to the she-cat, he walked over to the ginger tom, Firestar.

"You wanted a word with me?" he continued. "Is it really important? I have some important duties, can it wait?"

Graystripe had a look of desperation in his eyes, and there was something strange and awkward about his expression that made Firestar's fur tingle.

"Okay, come in, quickly," Firestar said impatiently as he padded inside, beckoning Graystripe through the lichen curtain which marked the den entrance.

"Well, what do you have to say?" Firestar asked the ThunderClan deputy. There was interest but a slight harshness in his voice. After a short pause, Graystripe trembled. He shifted a little closer to Firestar. Firestar stood up and walked up to him, giving him a comforting lick on the head before settling down next to his best friend.

"Graystripe, you can share this with me. I'm not asking as your leader. I'm asking as your friend. I can see it's troubling you. Come on."

There was a little more silence. Then Graystripe finally whispered a mere, shaky, quiet mew:

"You know we've been friends, for a really long time?"

"Well done! You spoke! And uh, yeah?"

"I got very close to you quite quickly. Before that, I hated you. To be honest I felt like hanging around with Sandstorm and Dustpelt when we were all apprentices. I hated the idea of you being a kittypet. I felt sorry for Ravenpaw and I was very angry at Bluestar for her awful decision." Firestar tensed a little. It was mainly at Graystripe's words and at the mention of the former clan leader Bluestar.

"Go on," he managed to say.

"But even though you weren't kitted in ThunderClan, and you asked so many questions. I didn't really have any friends except Ravenpaw, and he was really jumpy. So I started befriending you. I saw your true personality. Your heart shone bright. You were a ThunderClan apprentice, not a kittypet! I saw so much in you, and

I realized. We weren't just friends. When we became warriors, we had a deep bond. Not much in common, but still great friends. But it was much, much more than friends. It-" Graystripe's words were suddenly cut off. Firestar's eyes were brimming with concern and slight fear.

"Just say it Graystripe, you can tell me."

"B-but," Graystripe stammered, "No I can't!" Without warning, he bounded out of the den to end the conversation. He approached the warrior's den and frantically hurried inside. Sandstorm, who was lying outside, curiously followed with concern, before glancing back at the leader's den, where Firestar slowly emerged, a look of confusion on his face.

_Look after Graystripe._ The message his eyes seemed to give. Sandstorm shot a sympathetic glance at Firestar, and then continued walking into the den to comfort Graystripe.

Later on, Firestar was tangled up in thoughts. "_What did he want? Firestar wondered. It seemed urgent, yet he couldn't share it with me. I wonder? _While lost in thought staring at the warrior's den, his gaze slowly turned towards the fresh kill pile. With a grumble from his belly, Firestar remembered how hungry he was.

"Would you like some fresh kill?"

Startled, Firestar turned his head to the sound of the voice. _What? Tigerstar? How-_ Firestar calmed when he realized it was Brambleclaw, Tigerstar's son, showing a curious expression.

"Oh! Sorry, Brambleclaw. Just bring it to my den, thanks. A vole would be nice."

"Okay, but are you alright? You look quite sleepy."

"I'm fine thankyou, just get me the vole and that will be all."

Brambleclaw went back to his cheery state and bounded to the pile, finding a nice plump, juicy vole, which he carried into the den and set down as Firestar walked in.

"Thanks," he meowed. "Could you please fetch me Sandstorm? I could do with some company. She's looking after Graystripe, but just tell her that I want Graystripe to go see Cinderpelt in her den. He looked distressed, and she'd know what to do."

"Yes Firestar."

Firestar knew something was troubling Graystripe. He always shared anything that was on his mind to Firestar, they had been best friends since Firestar joined the clan as Firepaw. Or maybe a little bit _after_ that, apparently. This was a very strange matter, and Firestar was determined to get to the bottom of it. But did that mean losing his friendship with Graystripe, or worse, the trust of his entire clan?


	2. Chapter 2

"The cats to attend the gathering will be: Cloudtail, Brightheart, Brambleclaw, Brackenfur, Goldenflower, Sandstorm, Graystripe and myself, of course." Firestar's decision was obviously approved, because no one said anything against it. "I still have things to take care of, so we will leave soon after sunset. Cats attending the gathering should eat some fresh kill first, because we'll need the energy. I'm not bringing any apprentices because of the strange scents around the forest, which are unfamiliar and disturbing. I need strong warriors in case of attack of the unknown, okay?" The queens who had mothered the current apprentices nodded their approval. "Everyone else can guard the camp when we leave, and make sure the elders are fed." Flicking his tail to signal the end of the meeting, Firestar prepared to descend from the high rock, but hesitated, turning his gaze to the sky, where the sun was setting and one lone star of Silverpelt shone.

"Is that you Bluestar?" Firestar mewed. "I could do with some help. I don't know how you did it, being leader. It's so hard, so much responsibility, I don't know if I can do it much longer. Please, StarClan just say that no bad news will come at the gathering tonight." When he had finished his prayers, he looked down to see everyone moving around doing something. The queens ushering kits into the nursery, apprentices fetching kill and moss for the elders, except Firestar wasn't doing anything but look at the stars and pray. He hopped down from the high rock and padded to the fresh kill pile. At the same time, the evening patrol bounded out of the camp, just organized by Graystripe. Now he was organising a hunting patrol, which was just preparing to leave. _Graystripe. _How suspicious he was being lately. Then a dark thought hit Firestar. Could the thing troubling him be the strange scents in the territory and the possible danger be, – something to do with him? Firestar tried to put that out of his mind and think about the gathering. It would be time to go soon, so he grabbed a rabbit for Graystripe and himself to share and settled down next to him, as he dismissed the hunting patrol. Firestar signalled for him to sit down and they shared the rabbit. Then they just sat together for a while, watching the camp while sharing tongues.

Firestar led the group of cats over the fallen tree bridge toward the slope that descended to Fourtrees. Firestar peeked down into the clearing to see which clans were there. He was astounded to see that there were none. ThunderClan were first, which hadn't happened for a very long time. Bewildered, Firestar bounded into the clearing, with a flick of his tail to tell the other cats to follow. Firestar leapt up to the great rock to wait for ShadowClan, RiverClan and WindClan to arrive. He was imagining how crowded the clearing must have been if SkyClan had still lived in the forest. It was already a little crowded with four clans. Firestar was dragged out of his thoughts by Graystripe's yowling, getting his attention from the foot of the great rock.

"Firestar, I'm a little concerned. It's already Moonhigh, and we're the only ones here," Graystripe mewed nervously. There was a different tone in his voice, not quite fear or concern, but something else familiar that he couldn't define. A few heartbeats later there were gasps from ThunderClan. A lone cat staggered into the clearing from the RiverClan slope, covered in scratches, scars and was severely bleeding. It was a she-cat with RiverClan scent.

"Firestar! You have to help us! Rogues are attacking our camp. We're out numbered even though ShadowClan and WindClan are helping us. There are casualties, we need… medicine cats, ThunderClan… …help us … please. The she-cat ran out of breath, before slowly dropping to the ground and going limp.

Firestar shrieked with horror when he realized who it was. It was Mistyfoot, Bluestar's daughter.


End file.
